Anesthesia used during a facelift?

Almost all modern facelifts are performed with local anesthesia. The question then is only what sedation you administer in addition to the local anesthetic, and who administers it. The options are no sedation, oral sedation alone (i.e. valium), deep intravenous sedation, or a light general anesthetic. When the... more

Having used both techniques for more than 30 years I only use local anesthesia for the following patient: 1. patients who only require a" minilift " and the idea of surgery does not make them anxious. 2. Patients who medically cannot have general anesthesia, but can have local anesthesia. In these patients I... more

I perform all facelifts under deep sedation with local anesthesia even though our office surgical facility is also accredited to perform general anesthesia. With local and sedation, you are completely unconscious and it is safer. I don't have to work around a tube in your throat and you wake up more smoothly... more

The great thing about this website is that a prospective patient can ask a question and receive educated opinions.  My opinion is that local anesthesia with sedation provides the best compromise of pain control, relaxation, and safety while allowing the surgeon to work efficiently.  I use this... more

Facelift can be safely and comfortably performed under both sedation, and general anesthesia. Safely is the fey word. My own preferrence has been a local anesthetic with sedation for facelift procedures. The sedation our center provides is a deep or twilight sleep. The medication is "dissociative" or... more

Having performed thousands of facial plastic surgery operations with both general anesthesia and IV sedation I can say with confidence that IV sedation has all the advantages of general anesthesia (patient comfort) and very few of the side effects of general. The main advantages of IV sedation anesthesia... more

Advantages of general anesthesia: No pain with injections Ease for the surgeon Disadvantages of general anesthesia: Higher risk (arguably) Higher cost in some practices where an in office procedure can be done with sedation but not general anesthesia More nausea associated with general anesthesia Blood... more

Face lifts can be done under local anesthesia and general anesthesia. It really depends on the person and how they can handle being slightly awake or not during the procedure. Also, a particular person’s pain tolerance plays a major part. I In my experience, IV sedation is the best way to do the... more

Anesthesia techniques have improved considerably over the past decade.  The medications used are more precise in action with regards to predictability of onset and wear-off.  Both LIVS (local anesthesia with IV sedation) and General Anesthesia, performed by qualified medical personnel (MD... more

I have used both General Anesthesia as well as Monitored Anesthesia Care with excellent results.  There are advantages and disadvantages to both techniques, depending on the surgeon or patient's perspective: The presence of either a Laryngeal Mask or Endotracheal tube ensures a secure airway for... more